Nathalie Nell
In the evening of her life, Yannick Bellon reflects on her past. She evokes her career as a film director, which began in the 1940s and the themes, sometimes controversial (rape, bisexuality, drugs, ecology) she chose to deal with. She also tells about her friendships, her loves, her leftist political commitment, which earned her many troubles with the censors.
In a routine sex farce, Gautier (Jean-Claude Dauphin) is a man determined to figure out how to give a woman an orgasm -- which of course requires a lot of practice and experimentation. His buddy Roussel (Jean-Luc Bideau) also chases after women but does not share Gautier's unique quest. Rose (Nathalie Nell) finds Gautier entrancing and devises a way to capture his heart while helping him on his search for the ultimate turn-on.
A California professor (Martin Sheen), his wife (Blythe Danner) and his daughters make room for his orphaned illegitimate French son (Sebastian Dungan).
In making this film about a director who is presently working on an autobiographical movie, real-life director Elie Chouraqui has played on a Jewish cultural theme (the "reel" director is Jewish) and the intermixing of 1960s movie-making techniques. In the film, director David is in his 30s and his autobiography brings in details about his growth to adulthood -- his early life along the seacoast in Normandy, his parents, his education, and in the present, his sister and her husband, and a few of his own lovers. Visions of the past enhance the events of the moment, such as in the scene of David's mother's death. In the end, viewers may be able to answer the question posed by the title -- "What makes David run?"
A blind, paralyzed president uses his remarkable hearing and his corrupt daughter to keep his country in line. His beautiful, clever daughter works her own agenda while striving to be the equal of men. She appoints herself Chief of Firefighters and then commits arson to ensure that her job is needed.
Nicole, nurse in Grenoble, is raped one night by four men. Deeply scarred, emotionally and physically, she thinks she will never recover from the trauma. Following a friend's advice, she decides to file a lawsuit.
In response to a new friend's queries, Vera recounts the story of her life, beginning with marrying her no-good husband Cayre, who has been using her for some time as a kind of unpaid prostitute in order to keep his failing building business afloat.
A teenage girl accuses her primary schoolteacher, Jean Doucet (Jacques Brel), of trying to rape her. The police and the mayor investigate, but Doucet denies the charges. Two other students come forward to reveal more of Doucet's misconduct – one confessing to be his mistress. Doucet faces trial and hard labor if convicted.
